Smokers' houses harder to sell

Wilmington (DE) News Journal ^ | September 26, 2003 | Maureen Milford

[Gabz]

As tobacco has become less socially acceptable and home buyers are more aware of indoor air quality, houses that reek of cigarette smoke are becoming a harder sell, experts report.

"It definitely is a major turnoff," said Michael Wilson, a real estate agent with Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors in Brandywine Hundred. "Buyers immediately think about what they'll have to do to eliminate the odor. It's a real drawback and a real negative."

[Gabz]

You summed it all up rather well.

If you don't like something about a house - look at others. I know I sure did before we bought this one.

[verity]

And I'm all three.

Shooting while drinking and smoking!
Geeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[dar29oh]

http://www.newbooksinfo.com.au/

Found a lengthy book review critiquing the anti-smoker movement. You have to see the book cover.
Excerpt below.

"Rampant Antismoking Signifies Grave Danger presents an examination of the antismoking mentality in greater, multidimensional context. While there have been many tens of thousands of "studies" concerning the phenomenon of smoking, there has essentially been no analysis of the antismoking mentality. The book's discussion covers biological (epidemiologic), psychological, social/relational, moral, legal, and philosophical/spiritual considerations in indicating that domineering materialism does not reflect some great conspiracy but, rather, a regression into "rule by superficiality." Most participants in the materialist assault have no idea what they are fueling. The mentality, or cult framework, is best characterized as incompetent and ignorant - lacking in multidimensional insight. It is by this superficial or shallow reasoning, and during a period when almost all manner of questionable conduct has been "normalized" by the same framework, that tobacco-smoking alone has been manufactured into the great "taboo" of the time: Antismoking has been concocted into a symbol of moral rectitude for morally floundering individuals and societies, i.e., moral fakery - a similar, troubling theme was also evident in Nazi Germany. Smoking has been manipulated into a projection point for all manner of contorted reasoning: It has been made a contemporary scapegoat, a fashionable bigotry, fulfilling a dysfunctional need of an unthinking populus. It is highlighted that this situation reflects a metaphysical crisis. Many nations are already in dire straits, and with the worst yet to come".

[Gabz]

Why thank you.

I am doing my best to keep my composure, but it is a bit trying at times.

[GeekDejure]

But...but...but, if they're DUMMYCRATS, what are they doing here?????

Can you say . . . Spy - ing ??? . I knew you could !!!

.

[SheLion]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[SheLion]

I'm just having fun and looking at the humor in the anti's postings. hehe!

[Gabz]

Please ping me if you do....

I have to give it some thought. If I do it, it will be some time from now - when the fur and feathers from this debacle settle.

[eXe]

But the smoker-haters will latch onto this crapaganda and use it, as you said, to further push for prohibiting smoking in one's own home. They can prohibit it all they want, Wont stop me. I am don't playing mr nice guy. I used to be a polite smoker, not anymore. It got me nowhere. I used to go out of my way not to offend, now why bother? Polite is never good enough for the antis, they want smoking banned. Btw I just got a property in Nevada, We are moving in november, Almost every house we looked at had serious smoke damage around the fireplace, wonder when they will "Ban fireplaces" to keep a place "clean". Most houses also had smokers in them. No signs of price drop there, Home values are rising and rising up. This is propaganda that the antis will run around in a frenzy repeating until everyone believes it.

[Kieri]

We bought a new construction in 1996 from a builder. We got there in time to pick out the carpet, but everything else was finished.

After we moved in, I noticed that if we closed up the house and were gone for a few hours, when we got back the house smelled like cigarette smoke. The BUILDERS smoked while framing and drywalling.

The stink stuck around for more than a year.

I chose not to stick around a smoking environment for very long, but as long as people smoke in their houses, they have to realize that it takes a toll in either the value of their home or in the costs to clean it.

[Gabz]

I agree.

I have no problem with people who express an opinion that they dislike the smell of cigarette smoke.

But the intentionally demeaning use of the words stench and filth make me feel weird that some of these people are generally normal, compassionate, and intelligent FReepers.

The rudeness, nastiness and superiority attitudes taken on this thread have made me really wonder what kind of people I thought I have been dealing with all this time.

[Great Dane]

"If you just paint, it loosens the nicotine and it bleeds right through,"

Is there no end to their silly nonsense, talk about being off the wall.

When we moved out of our rental, there were people waiting in line to get our townhouse, the owner even asked if they could use our unit to show prospective tenants, said our place looked and smelled so clean all the time...... we were two smokers, and we lived there for 10 years.

[SheLion]

The rudeness, nastiness and superiority attitudes taken on this thread have made me really wonder what kind of people I thought I have been dealing with all this time.

I hear you! Sad, isn't it.........it's like they need a whipping board, and smokers at it!

[PJ-Comix]

They didn't realize how much the smoke permeates the wood and drywall. Same can be said for used cars.

Same can be said for people too. Even after they quit smoking the smoke lingers on for a long time as it slowly oozes out of their pores.

[Vladivostok]

No one is forcing anything here it is the market at work.

For now it is, but the anti-smoking pressure already has resulted in it being illegal to smoke in a "company car" in NY and will shortly make it illegal to smoke in the private car with children present. It's only a matter of time before the pressure makes it illegal to smoke at home - first in apartments because the people are easier to push around without an equity stake, then condo's because of the common walls and halls, then houses because of prevailing winds.

You say it's gubmint vs. market forces, but da gubmint doesn't sit around dreaming this crap up, they fold under pressure from the fanatics one by one to buy votes.

[PJ-Comix]

More folks jumping on the bandwagon of lies looking to make a quick buck.

Not a lie. Walls of homes that smokers live in do reek of tobacco long after they are gone.

[PJ-Comix]

But it is a fact that if you smoke in your house there will be less of a market for your house when you decide to sell it.

Will the smoke kill the termites?

[Vladivostok]

If we're lucky they'll take away the guns last so we can still put ourselves out of our fanatically regulated misery :-)

[dhfnc]

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Great Dane]

If you smoke in your house, you are driving down your property value on resale, its just a pure and simple fact.

Not necessarily, there are many other factors, even expensive houses today are buildt on postage stamp size lots, we are now pretty well in the middle of town, with 1/2 acre lot, then there is location, location, location, we have that too.